"Director, I have drafted a statement to sever family ties. Please take a look at it. If everything is in order, I would like you to witness it. I am severing ties with my older brother today. From this day forward, our two families will lead separate lives, neither interfering with the other, and we will handle our own weddings, funerals, and family matters independently."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone was shocked.
"Oh! Is this really necessary?" the director asked. She felt that things had not yet reached such a point.
"Well severed! There is no need for such parasitic relatives," Old Man Lin said. If circumstances had allowed, he would have stood up and applauded.
"Sigh!" Old Mrs. Lin sighed. She, too, had not expected her daughter-in-law to be so courageous.
"Sister! I have already agreed to your conditions. Must you really do this? We are siblings! Before Mom and Dad passed away, they told me I must take good care of you. Aren't you just tearing my heart out?" Li Youqing lamented. He felt that his sister was forcing him to his death; if word of this got out, he would never be able to hold his head up again. What kind of family could be considered decent if they couldn't even tolerate their own flesh and blood? Who would dare marry into his house? At that moment, his heart felt cold and dead.
"Older brother, there is no need to try and persuade me further. My mind is made up. Since the director is here, let her serve as a witness," Li Youfeng replied.
Li Youqing’s eyes turned red, filled with reluctance and regret. "Sister! I beg you! Please! Don't do this."
Li Youfeng remained firm. "Brother, what if I told you that as long as you divorce your wife, I won't sever ties? Can you do that?"
Li Youqing was stunned, unable to utter a word for a long time. "I! I... I..."
"I know you can't! So don't force me either. This is the last bit of dignity we have left," Li Youfeng said.
She signed her name in front of the others and pushed the paper toward Li Youqing. "Sign it, brother. Let’s part on decent terms."
Li Youqing turned away, wiped his tears in secret, and silently signed his name.
The director watched as both of them signed, then added her own signature, creating three copies. One for the Women’s Federation to keep, one for Li Youqing, and one for Li Youfeng. From that moment on, they were no longer family; they had no further connection.
When they emerged from the room, Ke Xiaohong took the lead to push her aunt’s wheelchair. "Aunt, are we going back to the hospital?"
"Let's go back," Li Youfeng replied.
With the Lin family members arriving and leaving in a flurry, the Women’s Federation office suddenly felt spacious again. A young comrade from the office looked at the severance agreement in the director’s hands and asked impulsively, "Director, did Uncle Li make Aunt Li so angry that she had to sever ties? That’s just heartless!"
The director glanced at Li Youfeng’s retreating figure and shook her head. "No. It was your Aunt Li who initiated the severance. She doesn’t want that kind of parasitic family. You young girls must always remember: you can break out of any predicament if you are heartless enough, and you can master any situation if you are detached enough. In any relationship, the moment the other party stops considering your feelings, you must cut your losses in time. Life is not meant for pleasing others, but for treating yourself well. You must get used to people’s hot and cold behavior, and accept that people will eventually drift away. Be decisive in your actions and do not drag things out, or you will end up harming both yourself and others. Never get bogged down in a relationship that has already rotted at the roots."
She, too, had only just understood the depth of Li Youfeng’s resolve. She admired her and envied her, hoping that her future days would be bright and upward-looking. The young girls listened, lost in thought.
After speaking, the director went upstairs to the factory manager’s office. Women should help women; she was going to file a complaint, make trouble for him, and ensure he was kicked out of the factory.
Li Youfeng knew nothing of this.
As soon as she passed through the gates of the machinery factory, she fainted. The negotiation had drained too much of her energy; it was a miracle she had lasted until then.
Seeing their aunt, daughter-in-law, and mother collapse, the others were frantic. Fortunately, they hadn't gone far. Ke Xiaohong made a split-second decision and ran back into the factory to seek help from the Women's Federation, hoping they could assist in getting her to the hospital.
Many people saw Li Youqing’s sister collapse as soon as she left and assumed the negotiations had gone poorly and she had been literally angered to death. Rumors spread in small groups, and by the time the leadership learned of it, it was too late to stop them.
Li Youfeng was sent back to the hospital. This time, after the doctor examined her and found nothing but exhaustion, he strictly reprimanded both the patient and her family. How could they run off on their own before the patient had fully recovered? Bringing her back in this state was a pure waste of hospital resources. If this had been a few years ago, they would have been sent to labor reform.
After being scolded by the doctor, everyone behaved like frightened quails.
By evening, her aunt woke up. "Aunt! Do you want some water? Something to eat? Are you hungry?" Ke Xiaohong asked.
Her eldest daughter, Dani, was also by her side. "Mom! How are you feeling?"
Li Youfeng shook her head, signaling for Dani to bring the pillow over. She wanted to sit for a while; her back was aching from lying down all day. "Dani, go pour some hot water! I want a drink."
"Yes, okay."
After shooing Dani away, Li Youfeng turned to Ke Xiaohong. "Xiaohong, I’ve settled things with your father. I’ve secured a job and six thousand yuan. Once I have the money in hand, I’ll have your uncle help you find a place in the provincial capital. Once it’s all set, I’ll have Dani tell you. But in the meantime, you need to get away from your in-laws and move your residency registration out of your parents' home. At the latest, three months; at the earliest, one month—I should have results on my end by then. You know that good properties don't wait for anyone, so you need to be quick."
She knew the situation at Ke Xiaohong’s parents' home; moving residency registration wasn't an easy task.
"Okay, Aunt! I’ll listen to you! I will go back and move my registration as soon as possible." Ke Xiaohong felt half her worries settle at that moment.
"I fell out with your father today, so it’s not appropriate for you to stay here. When Dani comes back, you should go home. This is all the help I can give you for now. Take this twenty yuan, just in case." She pulled twenty yuan from her bag—money Lin Dequan had given her earlier that morning for emergencies that she hadn't needed.
"Aunt! I have money! I still have money!" Ke Xiaohong hurriedly explained.
"I know you do, but... sigh! Just take it. You’re going to have a hard time when you go back today. Keep it; if there’s an emergency, you can use it to pay someone to run an errand."
Ke Xiaohong thought about it and realized she was right. "Aunt, I’ll consider this a loan. I’ll pay you back when I have money."
Li Youfeng said "Good, good, good" several times, feeling gratified.
Dani soon returned, and Li Youfeng urged Ke Xiaohong to leave before it got completely dark, as the road wouldn't be safe.
When she arrived home, she heard intense arguing. Ke Xiaohong hesitated, wondering whether to go in, when her sister-in-law spotted her.
"Oh! Look who’s back! It’s our big busybody. What happened? Did you get kicked out after playing the servant for your aunt?" the sister-in-law sneered.
The people arguing in the living room fell silent. Her mother-in-law gestured for the sister-in-law to pull Ke Xiaohong inside and close the door.
The moment the door shut, a slap landed squarely on Ke Xiaohong’s face.
"You little tramp, you traitor! Your aunt was going to find your father, and you didn't even come back to warn us. What good are you?"